Gary Ferrer, a legally blind Mexican immigrant, will be the only Hispanic to participate in the blind photographers exhibition organized by the group Blind Photographers Guild of California for the year 2021 at the University of California, Los Angeles. This exhibition represents her return to photography after losing her sight to meningitis four years ago.

“Words cannot describe how excited I am because I am the only Hispanic photographer invited to participate in an exhibition of work captured only by blind photographers. I feel amazing! ”Says Gary.

At age 27 in 2016, he fell victim to severe meningitis that nearly killed him, but left him with very limited vision.

“My vision is very blurry. I see many shadows. I cannot perceive colors. I see gray or black, and very grainy. It is nothing that can be solved with glasses. I have been declared legally blind, and I know that I will not improve any more nor will I be as before. So I decided to stand out with whatever I had at hand.

This is how he created the Gary Ferrer Folk Dance Group in San Bernardino made up of Hispanic boys and girls who have performed throughout Southern California.

Gary Ferrer returns to photography. (Courtesy Gary Ferrer)

Gary came to the United States from Zacatecas, Mexico when he was 16 years old. He is currently 32 years old.

“Before I got sick with meningitis, I was doing fashion event photography and giving fitness classes like Zumba,” she recalls.

He was satisfied with the Folkloric Ballet, but longed to return to fashion photography.

“The love for photography was born to me as a child. I liked to see how you could freeze a moment forever. I once asked my grandfather for a photo of my grandmother who had drowned, and he told me that he had none because taking pictures in town was a luxury”.

Gary Ferrer with one of his models. (Courtesy Gary Ferrer)

Upon arriving in the United States, he set out to be a fashion photographer. “Photography is very expensive, and I started saving to buy my first camera. I remember that the first lights were super cheap and I bought it in a hardware store. I learned alone. I couldn’t go to school ”.

When meningitis struck and he lost his sight, his home office where he kept all of his photographic equipment was left intact. “It hurt so much not being able to take pictures. I would go into the room, grab my camera, put it aside and go out ”.

It was his mother who motivated him to return to photography. “You have always been able to do what you want,” he said.

And when he heard a video on the YouTube site, of a group of photographers who could not see or were legally blind like him, he was much more animated.

Photograph by Gary Ferrer. (Courtesy Gary Ferrer)

“It inspired me too much. My colleague Iván contacted them, and that is how the invitation to participate in the 2021 California Blind Photographers Exhibition at UCLA was given. They have given me thematic freedom to present the photographs that I want ”.

Gary finally made up his mind to get out his photographic equipment, and slowly began to explore his camera.

“I practice on myself. There are things that are difficult for me, but there are people who help me connect cables. I can see lines and silhouettes, although I cannot control the details and I get very close to the screen when I am editing.

Gary Ferrer with one of his models. (Courtesy Gary Ferrer)

His desire to take up photography again even with his visual limitations is so great that he decided to name his collection of photographs with the name Obsesión. “I have become obsessed with being the photographer that I was before meningitis.”

His collection of photographs – he explains – has a Mexican touch mixed with Gothic. “The Mexican is colorful, and the Gothic has a dark background. My collection is a reflection of my new world of shadows ”.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here